I am a Manager in the Design & Engineering department at SeaWorld San Diego. I oversee the planning, design, and construction of capital projects for the theme park. This includes working with other departments such as Water Quality, Environmental, Merchandise, Culinary, Park Operations, Plant Engineering, Entertainment, and Zoological to ensure a project’s success.

My interest in engineering started with my parents. My mom was a high school math teacher. My dad is a biochemist at a university. So that gave me a math and science background and funneled me towards an engineering goal.

I took a liking to managing projects early on in my professional career. This enables me to see the “big picture” while working with people to produce a quality project, which acknowledges that it takes more than just engineers to make things work.

I come to my office in the "back-of-house" and start my day by reviewing pertinent emails and telephone messages that need immediate attention. Then I get started with my projects. Since I oversee on average 10 different projects at any given time, I need to prioritize my tasks for each day. My days range anywhere from reviewing a design, working on a project schedule, holding meetings with my design and construction teams, or visiting the project site to make decisions on constructability questions. When I have the opportunity, I spend time working on planning initiatives, such as budgeting and master plans, or volunteering time on outreach activities like participating on professional society committees, advising an engineering board, and mentoring college students.

Being an engineer has given me the background of the mechanics for many things that we encounter everyday, like sturdy bridges or clean water. I feel that being an engineer has opened doors for me to pursue whatever I want to do. The credentials of an engineering degree, along with a professional license, are irreplaceable. Having a technical degree, I never thought that I would get an opportunity like this to work at SeaWorld.

Being an engineer has taught me that I need to “think outside the box". Sometimes problems cannot be solved simply through traditional math and science. It takes teamwork and collaboration from others to make a project in the “real world” work for everyone, not just the engineer. They didn't teach that in school. Engineering is 50% book studies and 50% real-world experience, but it’s 100% teamwork (see… it’s not all about correct math!).

Read more of my story at EngineerGirl https://www.engineergirl.org/3021/Jennifer-Nakayama

(Thanks to Design Squad Global for the video.)

taking my dog on walks with Brian- my significant otherDancecookingwatching movies

Communication and cooperation are vital to everything we do.